Of course, if watching the numbers on the odometer climb gives you a sense of built-to-last satisfaction, you may not feel so great about Kelley Blue Book’s new “Follow This Car” e-mail service.

Basically, the latest feature from the nation’s go-to source for car prices will e-mail you an alert “when a specified vehicle's value changes by more than 2 percent.” And, usually, “changes” means “drops.”

You can sign up for “Follow This Car” at KBB.com. It fills a crucial, up-to-the-minute need as people start thinking about upgrading their vehicles, said Mike Wulf, director of product management for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.

"It is critical to have the most up-to-date vehicle values information available when a consumer decides to sell their car," Wulf said. "Whether they decide to sell their car to a private party or trade it in at their local dealership, the latest valuation information provided by kbb.com's all-new Follow This Car feature will help ensure the best deal possible."

You can track up to five vehicles at once.

If nothing else, it’s an exercise in curiosity and the economics of something steadily losing its value as soon as it leaves the lot.

For instance, I realized that my recently purchased Raleigh bicycle is now worth more than the Blue Book value on the family’s 1993 Volvo wagon with 240,000 miles on it (fortunately, the old brick still runs like a finely-tuned Swedish clock). Then I received an alert about my 2001 Volvo XC70, got depressed and unsubscribed to the service.

Still, Kelley suggested that I “trade-up” to a 2012 Audi A3 wagon to save big money on gas. Oh, Mr. Blue Book, how this single-income journalist with a daughter about to start college would love to entertain the idea.

For now, I’m living like its 2001 and trying to forget how my Cross Country’s sticker price has gone way off road -- as in over a cliff.

In case you’re wondering, the 10 vehicles with the maximum trade-in return, according to Forbes, are:

Research 'what's my current car worth' from the kbb.com homepage, select the appropriate year, make and model, and determine its current value. On the values page, consumers will find a link to receive alerts for change in that vehicle's value. To sign up, interested users simply enter their name and email address to begin following their vehicle's value. Site visitors will receive a 'thank you' email with information on the selected model. A single notification email will arrive for all models being tracked once a value moves up or down 2 percent. In this email, car sellers also gain access to helpful kbb.com new-car shopping tools, including both expert reviews and ratings and consumer reviews and ratings.